The Range Rover Sport is many things. Large, luxurious, all-terrain conquering. But green? Nope.

That’s all about to change though with the introduction of Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) first ever plug-in hybrid – the Range Rover Sport P400 PHEV.

The Cayenne rival’s powertrain throws together a 295bhp two-litre petrol engine with an 85kW (113bhp) electric motor, which is powered by a 13.1kWh lithium-ion battery, to achieve a combined fuel consumption of 101mpg and CO2 emissions of 64g/km.

Numbers like that would’ve been impressive in something like a Yaris three years ago, so the fact that they’re possible in a car that weighs the best part of three tonnes in its conventional petrol and diesel form is phenomenal work.

Using just electric power, the plug-in Rangie Sport can drive for 31 miles without even touching a drop of petrol, bringing zero-emission and near-silent off-road luxury with uncompromised all-terrain capability to the SUV for the first time.

Although the battery can recharge using kinetic energy from the car’s wheels, sometimes the need to plug it in will arise. With rapid charging, the battery can be fully charged in two hours 45 minutes using a dedicated or 32amp wall box, or a whopping seven-and-a-half hours if you have the time to leave it plugged into a standard three-pin plug overnight.

All this eco green stuff doesn’t mean performance has been neglected, because with 640Nm of combined torque, it can race to 62mph from rest in 6.7 seconds before barrelling up to a top speed of 137mph.

Luxury is similarly up to expectations with a premium cabin boasting the new Touch Pro Duo infotainment system – the most advanced ever created by Jaguar Land Rover – which combines two high-definition ten-inch touchscreens.

Prices start from just under £70,800 for the P400 HSE, rising to £73,800 for the HSE Dynamic and again to £84,400 for the range-topping Autobiography Dynamic.

Key rivals such as the Porsche Cayenne and Mercedes-Benz ML aren’t offered as a plug-in, making the Volvo XC90 T8 the only like-for-like competitor out there right now. You can pick up one of those for £61,715, more than £8k less than the plug-in Sport, and even the most kitted-out XC90 T8 Inscription is cheaper at £69,615.

The Range Rover Sport P400 PHEV is available to order now with deliveries from early 2018.

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